The organization of such conductors, for example optical fibers, in a container requires the use of a cassette system enabling said optical fibers to be stowed while complying with constraints on minimum radius of curvature and making it easy to take action on said fibers. As a general rule, existing cassettes are designed to hold a certain number of generally-protected permanent connections such as splices (a pair of fibers connected to each other), and also to enable extra lengths for splicing to be stowed, using coiling means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,603 discloses a modular cassette for coiling and holding splices formed by respective pairs of optical fibers, the cassette comprising a base module substantially occupying a plane, having an entry passage for a first group of said pairs of fibers, first means for coiling the first group of fibers, and means for holding splices formed between the first group and a second group of said pairs of fibers.
In a first configuration, the cassette further comprises an additional coiling module disposed removably in the plane of the base module by removable rail-type connection means that are insertable in the base module, and that comprise second means for coiling the fibers of the second group of said pairs of fibers.
In another embodiment, that prior art step further comprises an additional “interconnection” module removably disposed in the plane of the base module by removable rail-type connection means insertable in the base module. That module is for guiding the second group of fibers and for connecting it at the exit from the module, e.g. to other optical fibers. Under such circumstances, the fibers of the second group, each having a splice at one end and a connector at its other end, are coupling intermediaries known as “pigtails” and they enable an indirect connection to be made between the fibers of the first group and other optical fibers.
In that prior art cassette, only one additional module can be adjoined to the base module, thereby limiting the field of use of that cassette.